Presidential Power/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Moby sits behind the President's desk in the White House Oval Office. He is talking on a telephone, smiling. MOBY: Beep. Beep! Beep! Beep! The door to the office opens. Tim whispers to Moby from the doorway. TIM: Moby! You... you better come back to the tour before they find us. Moby gestures for Tim to wait. He returns to his phone call. MOBY: Beep. Moby hangs up. TIM: Who was on that phone? MOBY: Beep. TIM: The President of Russia? We have to go, now! Tim and Moby walk down a White House hall. Moby is reading a sheet of paper as he walks. TIM: Where did you get that letter? Moby gives Tim the sheet of paper. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Mister President, what is your job, anyway? From, Charlie K. Well, the President of the United States is like the chairman of a huge company. An organizational chart represents the structure of the government, with the President of the United States in the top position. All of the positions shown below the President are represented by dark silhouettes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: No, they're not all bald. That's just the way it's drawn. An image shows the exterior of the White House. TIM: So, if the President is like the C.E.O., his company would be the executive branch of the United States government. The executive branch is one of the three branches of our government, along with the legislative and judicial branches. The image of the White House represents the executive branch. Two additional images appear under the White House. One is the United States Capitol, representing the legislative branch, and the other is the Supreme Court building, representing the judicial branch. TIM: The "company" is so big that the President can't be responsible for making every decision him or herself. Instead, he or she decides on overall policies for the "company," the executive branch, to follow. These policies also influence the legislative and judicial branches. MOBY: Beep. TIM: A policy is like a general plan about how the government will deal with a particular problem. Let's take pollution. An animation shows a dark, smoggy, urban area with factories and automobile traffic. TIM: Pollution is a widespread problem caused by millions of American companies, cars, and people. It would be impossible for the government to list every source of pollution along with a decision on what to do about it. An animation shows a very thick book. Its title reads: Every Single Source of Pollution in America and What to Do About Each and Every One of Them. TIM: Instead, the President decides on a general course of action that the government should follow to reduce pollution: a policy. The book is replaced by a single sheet of paper. The paper is entitled: Federal Policy on Air Pollution. TIM: Coming up with policies like this one is how presidents spend most of their days. But the President doesn't work alone. Presidents appoint cabinet members to help make decisions. An image shows a room filled with cabinet members. TIM: Each cabinet member is an expert in a specific area, like foreign policy. That's the policy for how our government will deal with governments of other countries. An image shows a map of the world. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, that's a big one. MOBY: Beep? TIM: I was just getting to that. Presidents also have the power to sign or veto bills submitted to them by Congress, the legislative branch. An animation shows two bills sitting on the President's desk. TIM: If the President signs the bill, it becomes a law. A signature appears on one of the bills. It reads: the President. TIM: If he or she vetoes the bill, it doesn't, unless Congress overrides the veto. A large, red stamp reading VETO appears on the bill that the President did not sign. TIM: You can learn more about how that works in our "How a Bill Becomes a Law" movie. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of all the armed services. Symbols appear to represent the various branches of the United States military. TIM: The President can commit American soldiers to a conflict for up to ninety days without congressional approval, but Congress is the only part of the government allowed to officially declare war. Images show soldiers and a tank. MOBY: Beep. TIM: There's a lot of other stuff Presidents do. They appoint federal judges and ambassadors, make treaties with other countries, meet with foreign heads of state... Images show a federal judge, an ambassador, a U.S. flag and a Canadian flag, and the president shaking hands with a foreign leader. TIM: It's a busy job. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I think our tour group is in here. Tim points to a closed door. They open the door and look into a dark room. It is a control room, filled with military personnel. A grey-haired general scowls at them. TIM: Oh, sorry. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts